Trancoso fire, August 2025 Sernancelhe e Sarzeda, Trancoso (São Pedro e Santa Maria) e Souto Maior, Vale Flor, Carvalhal e Pai Penela
The fire started on 8 August 2025 in Trancoso (São Pedro e Santa Maria) e Souto Maior, Portugal, and satellites saw it burning for 11 days. Copernicus mapped a burnt perimeter of 78,447 hectares from satellite imagery, spread across 70 municipalities. According to ICNF, the largest of the 5 recorded fires was detected on 9 August 2025 at 16:21 and declared extinguished on 24 August 2025.
The largest in Portugal in 2025, of 85.
Compare with…
- Burnt area
- 78,447ha
- Copernicus perimeter
- Duration
- 11days
- 8 Aug 2025 – 18 Aug 2025
- Municipalities hit
- 70
- freguesias
- Started on
- 8 Aug
- 2025
- Heat detections
- 2,625
- in a single hotspot: 545 MW
- Danger at start
- 30
- High · FWI index
- Average daily power
- 8.7GW
- detected power per day, on average
Where it burned
How it evolved, day by day
Fire radiative power detected each day, in megawatts, and number of hotspots. The magenta bar marks the peak day.
The weather it burned in
It had gone 18 days without rain (1 mm or more) when it started.
This area had burned before
16% of the perimeter overlaps earlier fires recorded since 2016: 1,520 ha in 2016, 6,723 ha in 2017, 796 ha in 2018, 749 ha in 2019, 2,950 ha in 2020, 60 ha in 2021, 52 ha in 2022, 160 ha in 2023, 157 ha in 2024.
- 3,252 ha Fornos de Algodres fire, October 2017 4,809 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
- 2,224 ha Sernancelhe fire, August 2020 2,287 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
- 1,165 ha Sernancelhe fire, August 2017 1,164 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
- 962 ha Rio de Mel fire, October 2017 974 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
- 845 ha Celorico da Beira fire, August 2017 911 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
- 796 ha Aldeia Nova fire, October 2018 981 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
- 713 ha Sernancelhe fire, July 2019 712 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
- 687 ha São João da Pesqueira fire, July 2020 780 ha in total; the hectares shown are those it shares with this fire
How big is it?
London boundary: geoBoundaries · Office for National Statistics (Open Government Licence v3.0).
Lisbon boundary: geoBoundaries · geoBoundaries, DG Territory (CC0 1.0).
Paris boundary: geoBoundaries · Institut national de l'information géographique et forestière (IGN-F) (Etalab Open License 2.0).
Madrid boundary: geoBoundaries · Open Data ESRI, IGN Central Registry of Cartography Area (CC BY 4.0).
This compares size, not location: both shapes are at the same scale, north up, centred on each other.
What happened to each town
-
Sernancelhe e Sarzeda 1,755 inhabitants · fire reached the centre3,775 ha reached on 15 Aug84 %
-
Trancoso (São Pedro e Santa Maria) e Souto Maior 3,192 inhabitants · fire reached the centre where it started3,452 ha reached on 10 Aug59 %
-
Vale Flor, Carvalhal e Pai Penela 255 inhabitants · fire reached the centre3,022 ha reached on 11 Aug87 %
-
Mêda, Outeiro de Gatos e Fonte Longa 2,399 inhabitants · fire reached the centre2,973 ha reached on 12 Aug58 %
-
Antas e Ourozinho 285 inhabitants · fire reached the centre2,907 ha reached on 15 Aug98 %
-
Moreira de Rei 411 inhabitants · fire reached the centre2,606 ha reached on 11 Aug79 %
-
Penedono e Granja 1,109 inhabitants · 0.5 km from the centre2,383 ha reached on 15 Aug72 %
-
Ferreira de Aves 1,823 inhabitants · 0.5 km from the centre2,310 ha reached on 13 Aug35 %
-
Aldeia Nova 276 inhabitants · 0.5 km from the centre2,302 ha reached on 10 Aug85 %
-
Ranhados fire reached the centre2,278 ha reached on 15 Aug90 %
-
Arnas 187 inhabitants · fire reached the centre2,133 ha reached on 15 Aug100 %
-
Rio de Mel 279 inhabitants · fire reached the centre2,052 ha reached on 10 Aug88 %
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Ferreirim e Macieira 614 inhabitants · fire reached the centre1,832 ha reached on 15 Aug82 %
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1,826 ha reached on 12 Aug62 %
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Aguiar da Beira e Coruche 345 inhabitants · fire reached the centre1,824 ha reached on 14 Aug42 %
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Carregal 420 inhabitants · fire reached the centre1,784 ha reached on 14 Aug86 %
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Leomil 1,131 inhabitants · 0.7 km from the centre1,701 ha reached on 8 Aug46 %
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Cunha 323 inhabitants · fire reached the centre1,698 ha reached on 15 Aug100 %
-
1,676 ha reached on 14 Aug69 %
-
Longroiva 218 inhabitants · fire reached the centre1,482 ha reached on 16 Aug36 %
-
Prova e Casteição 271 inhabitants · fire reached the centre1,427 ha reached on 14 Aug55 %
-
Penela da Beira 321 inhabitants · fire reached the centre1,394 ha reached on 15 Aug76 %
-
Beselga 270 inhabitants · fire reached the centre1,368 ha reached on 15 Aug92 %
-
Guilheiro 126 inhabitants · fire reached the centre1,355 ha reached on 15 Aug100 %
-
Riodades 405 inhabitants · 0.6 km from the centre1,337 ha reached on 15 Aug67 %
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Cedovim 284 inhabitants · fire reached the centre1,300 ha reached on 16 Aug40 %
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Carapito 423 inhabitants · 0.8 km from the centre1,220 ha reached on 13 Aug71 %
-
Castainço 128 inhabitants · fire reached the centre1,205 ha reached on 15 Aug90 %
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Quintela 249 inhabitants · fire reached the centre1,151 ha reached on 14 Aug83 %
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Granjal 282 inhabitants · fire reached the centre1,144 ha reached on 14 Aug83 %
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Caria 406 inhabitants · fire reached the centre1,142 ha reached on 15 Aug68 %
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Poço do Canto 331 inhabitants · fire reached the centre1,118 ha reached on 15 Aug69 %
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Souto 288 inhabitants · fire reached the centre1,104 ha reached on 15 Aug76 %
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Chosendo 267 inhabitants · fire reached the centre1,041 ha reached on 15 Aug91 %
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Souto de Aguiar da Beira e Valverde 363 inhabitants · 0.7 km from the centre984 ha reached on 15 Aug45 %
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Marialva 177 inhabitants · fire reached the centre970 ha reached on 16 Aug51 %
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Vila da Ponte 468 inhabitants · fire reached the centre947 ha reached on 15 Aug74 %
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Lamosa 179 inhabitants · fire reached the centre939 ha reached on 15 Aug70 %
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Paredes da Beira 495 inhabitants · 0.6 km from the centre874 ha reached on 15 Aug42 %
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Fiães 181 inhabitants · fire reached the centre867 ha reached on 10 Aug90 %
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União das Freguesias de Freches e Torres 450 inhabitants · 0.7 km from the centre830 ha reached on 10 Aug35 %
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Queiriz 227 inhabitants · fire reached the centre784 ha reached on 13 Aug80 %
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Penso e Freixinho 364 inhabitants · fire reached the centre767 ha reached on 14 Aug54 %
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Pinheiro 231 inhabitants · fire reached the centre706 ha reached on 13 Aug45 %
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Castanheira 165 inhabitants · fire reached the centre700 ha reached on 12 Aug71 %
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Pera Velha, Aldeia de Nacomba e Ariz 389 inhabitants · 1.1 km from the centre698 ha reached on 9 Aug24 %
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Valdujo 158 inhabitants · fire reached the centre633 ha reached on 11 Aug41 %
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Aveloso 184 inhabitants · fire reached the centre501 ha reached on 15 Aug66 %
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Escurquela e Fonte Arcada 424 inhabitants · fire reached the centre483 ha reached on 16 Aug24 %
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Reboleiro 247 inhabitants · fire reached the centre449 ha reached on 14 Aug100 %
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441 ha reached on 15 Aug15 %
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Palhais 154 inhabitants · fire reached the centre440 ha reached on 14 Aug100 %
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Forno Telheiro 597 inhabitants · 1.6 km from the centre392 ha reached on 11 Aug19 %
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Águas Boas e Forles 227 inhabitants · 1.7 km from the centre389 ha reached on 14 Aug25 %
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Póvoa de Penela 337 inhabitants · fire reached the centre270 ha reached on 15 Aug28 %
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Vilarouco e Pereiros 357 inhabitants · 2.6 km from the centre234 ha6.7 %
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Horta 161 inhabitants · 0.7 km from the centre158 ha16 %
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Rua 510 inhabitants · 0.9 km from the centre149 ha reached on 15 Aug15 %
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Eirado 181 inhabitants · 1.8 km from the centre129 ha reached on 14 Aug14 %
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Arcozelos 608 inhabitants · 0.7 km from the centre124 ha reached on 15 Aug13 %
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Minhocal 142 inhabitants · 2.5 km from the centre123 ha11 %
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São João da Pesqueira e Várzea de Trevões 546 inhabitants · fire reached the centre49 ha reached on 15 Aug0.9 %
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Touça 188 inhabitants · 1.3 km from the centre45 ha4.9 %
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Alvite 1,027 inhabitants · 1.7 km from the centre42 ha reached on 8 Aug2.2 %
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Pena Verde 715 inhabitants · 3.5 km from the centre32 ha reached on 13 Aug1.1 %
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Faia 160 inhabitants · 1.0 km from the centre16 ha4.4 %
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Sobral Pichorro e Fuinhas 227 inhabitants · 2.2 km from the centre13 ha0.9 %
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Barreira 165 inhabitants · 2.3 km from the centre9 ha0.4 %
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Rabaçal 220 inhabitants · 1.3 km from the centre9 ha reached on 11 Aug0.6 %
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Romãs, Decermilo e Vila Longa 1,062 inhabitants · 3.5 km from the centre1 ha0.0 %
Burnt area inside each municipality, from crossing the official perimeter with administrative boundaries. The distance runs from the point marking the centre of each area to the nearest fire: staying a kilometre away does not mean it reached the houses.
What burned
- Scrub and transitional woodland31 %
- Other natural land31 %
- Agricultural areas29 %
- Coniferous forest7.3 %
- Mixed forest1.0 %
- Broadleaved forest0.7 %
Natura 2000 protected area affected: 3 %
- LIC Rio Paiva PTCON0059
Natura 2000 sites (European Environment Agency, 2024 release) crossed by the perimeter.
Land cover inside the perimeter according to Corine Land Cover, as reported by Copernicus.
People and buildings inside the perimeter
GHSL 2025Inside the perimeter there were about 240 hectares of built-up land and about 4,200 residents (GHSL 2025, satellite-based estimate).
This is an estimate on 100 m cells, made from satellite imagery and census data: it does not mean that homes burned or that anyone was harmed. The perimeter also contains land that never burned. The GHSL 2025 epoch is a projection made from 2020 and earlier data.
Source: Global Human Settlement Layer (GHS-BUILT-S and GHS-POP R2023A), European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC), © European Union, CC BY 4.0. Sum inside the perimeter computed by WorldFires. human-settlement.emergency.copernicus.eu
Complex of 5 fires according to ICNF
According to ICNF, 5 fires started inside this perimeter on these dates, totalling 71,079 ha (the satellite measured 78,447 ha).
ICNF records each fire that started at a different time or place separately; the satellite sees a single burned area, so this page groups them together. The numbers on the map show where each one started.
When each one burned
1 2,105 ha 2 7 ha 3 46,917 ha 4 13,753 ha 5 8,298 ha- 1 Moimenta da Beira Leomil 8 August 2025 · 14:31 2,105 ha · extinguished on 13 August 2025 · cause: arson
- 2 Vila Nova de Foz Côa Cedovim 8 August 2025 · 21:29 7 ha · extinguished on 9 August 2025 · cause: arson
- 3 Trancoso Freches 9 August 2025 · 16:21 46,917 ha · extinguished on 24 August 2025 · cause: negligence
- 4 Sátão Ferreira de Aves 13 August 2025 · 00:03 13,753 ha · extinguished on 21 August 2025 · cause: natural (lightning)
- 5 Trancoso Moreira de Rei 14 August 2025 · 14:53 8,298 ha · extinguished on 19 August 2025 · cause: unknown
Total according to ICNF: 71,079 ha, 91 % of the 78,447 ha in the satellite perimeter.
ICNF (Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e das Florestas). This is the agency’s operational record: its figures may be revised when the year’s statistics are closed.
Checked against the press
Checked on 29 September 2026We checked this page against 4 sources published once the fire was out. This is what they add:
- Also known as
- Incêndio de Trancoso · Incêndio de Freches · Incêndio de Sátão
- According to the sources, several fires that ended up merging:
- Freches 9 August 2025 49,324 ha
- Vila Boa 13 August 2025 13,769 ha
- Declared under control (not yet extinguished): 17 August 2025
Sources
- Fogo que começou em Arganil apresenta a maior área ardida de sempre em Portugal — Observador (Lusa), 25 August 2025
- Fogos provocam mais de 13 milhões de euros de prejuízos em Sernancelhe — Diário de Viseu, 25 August 2025
- Fogos de Trancoso e Arganil com mais de 40 mil hectares ardidos cada — Sábado (Lusa), 20 August 2025
- Fogo está fora de controlo na Covilhã. Incêndio de Sátão/Trancoso entra em resolução — ECO, 18 August 2025
Official figures are measured differently from satellite ones and sometimes cover only part of the fire.
The weather day by day
ECMWF ERA5 reanalysis at the fire location, the standard reference for past weather, and the Canadian Fire Weather Index (the same system Copernicus uses), computed by WorldFires from that data. Days after the fire run until the first rain.
Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0) · Copernicus Climate Change Service (ERA5)
| Day | High | Min. humidity | Peak gust | Rain | Danger (FWI) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Aug | 30.7 °C | 35 % | 32 km/h | 0.2 mm | High 30 |
| 9 Aug | 32.1 °C | 29 % | 25 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 30 |
| 10 Aug | 32.9 °C | 26 % | 39 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 36 |
| 11 Aug | 32.4 °C | 28 % | 20 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 32 |
| 12 Aug | 32.0 °C | 28 % | 41 km/h | 1.3 mm | High 28 |
| 13 Aug | 29.8 °C | 34 % | 33 km/h | 1.4 mm | Moderate 18 |
| 14 Aug | 31.9 °C | 26 % | 35 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 30 |
| 15 Aug | 30.6 °C | 28 % | 42 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 35 |
| 16 Aug | 31.4 °C | 25 % | 29 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 33 |
| 17 Aug | 28.6 °C | 32 % | 40 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 36 |
| 18 Aug | 24.3 °C | 41 % | 41 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 32 |
| 19 Aug after | 22.8 °C | 44 % | 45 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 31 |
| 20 Aug after | 22.7 °C | 42 % | 38 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 29 |
| 21 Aug after | 24.5 °C | 35 % | 26 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 24 |
| 22 Aug after | 26.6 °C | 30 % | 32 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 29 |
| 23 Aug after | 27.9 °C | 30 % | 29 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 29 |
| 24 Aug after | 26.0 °C | 40 % | 28 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 29 |
| 25 Aug after | 26.7 °C | 37 % | 35 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 30 |
| 26 Aug after | 25.7 °C | 37 % | 39 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 32 |
| 27 Aug after | 19.5 °C | 52 % | 45 km/h | 0.0 mm | High 27 |
| 28 Aug after | 19.4 °C | 44 % | 46 km/h | 0.1 mm | High 27 |
Before and after, from space
Drag the line to compare the same ground before the fire and after it.
If the day is cloudy, change the date: each satellite passes once a day. In false colour the burnt ground looks brown or red.
The smoke
CAMS · CopernicusOn 11 August 2025 the air beside the fire reached 272 µg/m³ of PM2.5. That day averaged 109: 7.3 times the WHO daily guideline (15).
Particles from the Copernicus CAMS model at the centre of the perimeter; these are not measurements in each town. The pale bar is the worst hour, the solid one the daily average.
Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0) · Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS)
Detections table · 2,625Every satellite heat detection, one by one, with time, satellite, power and coordinates.
| Date and time | Satellite | FRP (MW) | Lat | Lon |
|---|
Other fires nearby
- 35,523 haCastro Daire União das Freguesias de Picão e ErmidaSeptember 2024 · 10 days · 31 km away
- 4,809 haFornos de Algodres Aldeia NovaOctober 2017 · 2 days · 31 km away
- 8,554 haPenalva do Castelo Vila Cova do Covelo/MarecoSeptember 2024 · 5 days · 36 km away
- 3,389 haCarrazeda de Ansiães LinharesJuly 2022 · 6 days · 36 km away
Frequently asked questions
- How long did the Trancoso fire last?
- According to the heat detections seen by satellite inside the perimeter, it burned from 8 August 2025 to 18 August 2025 (11 days). The perimeter dates it from 8 August 2025 to 17 August 2025. According to ICNF, the largest of the 5 recorded fires was detected on 9 August 2025 at 16:21 and declared extinguished on 24 August 2025.
- How much area did it burn?
- The perimeter Copernicus measured from satellite imagery is 78,447 hectares (784.5 km²). Official national figures may differ.
- Which municipalities burned?
- The fire entered 70 municipalities: Sernancelhe e Sarzeda (3,775 ha, 84 %); Trancoso (São Pedro e Santa Maria) e Souto Maior (3,452 ha, 59 %); Vale Flor, Carvalhal e Pai Penela (3,022 ha, 87 %); Mêda, Outeiro de Gatos e Fonte Longa (2,973 ha, 58 %); Antas e Ourozinho (2,907 ha, 98 %); Moreira de Rei (2,606 ha, 79 %); Penedono e Granja (2,383 ha, 72 %); Ferreira de Aves (2,310 ha, 35 %); Aldeia Nova (2,302 ha, 85 %); Ranhados (2,278 ha, 90 %); Arnas (2,133 ha, 100 %); Rio de Mel (2,052 ha, 88 %).
- Did the fire reach a town?
- The fire started in Trancoso (São Pedro e Santa Maria) e Souto Maior and reached its centre: the point marking it was inside the burnt area or less than 500 metres from it. That does not mean houses burned.
- What was the weather like?
- During the fire the temperature reached 32.9 °C, humidity dropped to 25 % and gusts hit 42 km/h. The fire danger index (FWI) reached 36, class High.
- Where does this data come from?
- From the EFFIS (Copernicus) burnt perimeter, NASA FIRMS VIIRS hotspots and the administrative boundaries of Portugal (geoBoundaries). It is not an official report.
Where to verify it
A satellite detection is not an official report. Final figures and the fire’s status are published by each country’s emergency service.
Emergency number: 112 · Emergency number and official warnings ›
- ICNF · Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e das Florestas ↗
- ANEPC · Proteção Civil ↗
- Fogos.pt (ocorrências em tempo real) ↗
Satellite cross-check
History of this page Changes in area, dates, name, official record or merged pages, compared every night since 24 October 2026.
No changes since 24 October 2026.
Does something look wrong on this page?
This page is built from satellite data and official records, and it sometimes gets things wrong: the wrong dates, the wrong town, two fires merged into one, or something that was not a wildfire at all. If you know this fire first-hand (you live nearby, saw it, fought it or reported on it), tell us what really happened and we will check it.
Report an error
How we know this
- Perimeter: EFFIS (Copernicus), mapped on satellite imagery; 4 polygons grouped in this page.
- Dates adjusted with the VIIRS detections inside the perimeter, which said 8 August 2025 to 17 August 2025. 2,625 Suomi-NPP VIIRS detections on those dates.
- Compared with ICNF: 71,079 official ha against 78,447 ha of perimeter; they agree within 25%.
- Checked against news and agencies: 4 confirmed sources.
- Weather: Copernicus ERA5 reanalysis at the fire location, in cells of about 25 km.
- Built-up area and population come from the JRC Global Human Settlement Layer (epoch 2025, 100 m cells), summed inside the perimeter: an estimate of what was there, not a damage count.
Where this data comes from
The perimeter and land cover come from the Copernicus European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS), measured on MODIS and Sentinel-2 imagery and published under CC BY 4.0. Heat detections come from the VIIRS sensors aboard Suomi-NPP and NOAA-20, distributed by NASA FIRMS at 375 m resolution. Municipal boundaries come from geoBoundaries ADM3 (CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication). The area per municipality is computed by WorldFires by crossing the perimeter with those boundaries, so it may differ slightly from each country’s official figure.